Indian food at home - live chat with Meera Sodha (Mon 7 July 1-2pm)

muddyboots

Whenever I attempt a homemade curry, I end up with a stomach ache half an hour after eating it. I think I make it too oily. Any suggestions how I can reduce the amount of oil? I don't even add oil!! I think it must be from the coconut milk.

Hello Muddyboots

I am sorry to hear this. You really don't need much oil at all to make a curry. I think you could use just two tablespoons to fry your ingredients at the beginning like your onions, ginger and garlic.

As for coconut milk, you should aim to make sure it's so hot it starts bubbling before you eat your curry but that rule only tends to apply with fresh coconut milk and not canned.

I wonder if it might be worth removing single ingredients at a time when you're cooking to see what's giving you a bad tummy?

As a side note: hot ginger tea (grated ginger squeezed into hot water) with hot water and honey is great for an upset tummy and i'm sure you'll know mint tea is a soothing digestive tea as well.

sarky

Hi Meera! When I order pilau rice from my local Indian take-away, it comes yellow and has a certain flavour. Ordered it from a different take-away and it came white with random coloured grains.... so which one is it?! And what exactly is pilau rice and how could I make it at home?

Hello Sarky,

Pilau just means that the rice is cooked in flavoured stock. It's a very broad definition - so there's no right or wrong. We (Indians) use the absorption method to cook rice so the grains take on the flavour of the broth they're cooked in rather than boiling and throwing out the water.

To make a home cooked pilau you can cook your rice in stock or create a stock with spices and salt (I like cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, pepper). There are recipes in my book and a lamb pilau recipe here

To make a restaurant style pilau (coloured grains) you can soak a pinch of saffron in a tablespoon of hot milk or water and drizzle over the grains at the end. Hope that helps!

granin

Hello Meera, thank you for coming to talk to us. I adore coconut in all its forms but especially in savoury dishes. Are there any savoury coconutty recipes in your book (the more coconutty the better)? I'd love to make something that uses it in a form other in sauce if that makes sense (like how shredded coconut is used in peshwari naan).

Thank you

Granin,

You are a lady after my own heart! I love coconut sauces too and have a few coconut recipes in my book. There's a coconut fish curry recipe (from Kerala), a caramelised onion, egg and coconut curry recipe and a vegetarian recipe for cauliflower, cashew, pea and coconut curry. Feast yourself!

shalamar

Like a couple of the previous posters I am interested in gluten free recipes and would love to know if I can make a masala dosa this way? Also on masterchef the other week they were making them and had lots of trouble with the pancake bit - are they very tricky?

Hello! Dosas are gluten free (they are made using soaked rice and urad dal or matpe beans). They are also a bit tricky and involved (but delicious and so arguably worth the effort..).

The key to a successful dosa is to leave the dosa batter overnight to ferment then use a seasoned non-stick pan to cook them. I am working on a quick dosa recipe and still tinkering but when I've perfected it i'll post it here on my blog

nannyjune

I love the dark brown dip they serve with samosas and things in restaurants. It tastes a bit like HP sauce but nicer! What is it and how can I make it?

Hello Nanny June

The dark brown dip is tamarind chutney (imli chutney). It's lovely and super easy to make if you can get your hands on some tamarind paste (from Sainsbury's) and some pitted dates. Just whizz together with ground cumin, salt, chilli and water. (There's a recipe for this in my book).

cpk43

Hello Meera I too love indian food and would love to try making a meal for the family. Can you suggest a menu (vegetarian and fish please but not seafood) that would be exciting and interesting but not so complicated I would have to spend the entire day cooking it.

Hello cpk43

For a simple veggie/ fish menu I might suggest you start with chilli paneer, followed by a coconut and coriander fish, steamed in a parcel) or a coconut fish curry and saffron shrikhand with passion fruit to finish. (Shrikhand is a lovely thick saffron yoghurt dessert.) (All these are in my book!)

Tegan

I've always liked Pataks sauces, too. Someone I know has a friend that runs a Chinese restaurant and he says the food they serve there is nothing like the food they eat at home which is far healthier and less salty. I assume it's the same with Indian food?

Hello Tegen,

This is true! Our Indian home cooking is nothing like the food you get in Indian restaurants. It's healthier, fresher and isn't spiced within an inch of it's life (well..sometimes) It's also colourful - not seven shades of murky brown and red...

Galen

I adore Indian food. My problem is it's fiddly and time consuming just for one person.
Do you have any ideas please for simple dishes for one?

I'm growing a curry leaf tree in my lounge at the moment. It's about 2' tall at the moment.

Just to add I'm so impressed you grow your own curry leaf tree!

ElenaT

Hi Meera, I absolutely love Indian food and, as a vegetarian, particularly paneer dishes (saag paneer is my favourite).
I find the paneer changes from restaurant to restaurant though - in one (my favourite) it melts well and is stringy, whereas in others it is hard lumps without much flavour.
Could you tell me what true paneer texture is supposed to be like? I love the former, melty version but I have a feeling it may not be real paneer Is there a recipe for it in your book?

Hello ElenaT,

I'm afraid your suspicions might be true. Paneer is a non-melting cheese but it softens beautifully when you heat it, a bit like halloumi.

It's also largely flavourless, so a perfect blank canvas to flavour however you wish. There is a recipe for how to make paneer in my book and let me reassure you that it's the easiest cheese in the world to make (using only two ingredients - milk and lemon juice).

I love paneer and have a few recipes in my book. There's a chilli paneer recipe, baby spinach and paneer curry and slow-cooked red peppers and paneer.

Galen

I adore Indian food. My problem is it's fiddly and time consuming just for one person.
Do you have any ideas please for simple dishes for one?

I'm growing a curry leaf tree in my lounge at the moment. It's about 2' tall at the moment.

It doesn't have to be fiddly and time-consuming! If I cook for myself I'll make a quick coconut fish curry or prawns stir-fried in mustard seed and garlic. (Both quick and easy dishes) or else I'll roast up some chicken tikka which is great when hot for dinner and perfect stuffed into a sandwich for lunch the next day. Of course you can freeze most curries, dals, chutnies and even samosas too if you did want to make a bigger batch. (The recipes i've named are in my book).

Stansgran

I have plenty of Indian Cook books and love playing around with spices but my DH has been bringing home Pataks jars of sauce and even then adds mango chutney to it. I'm feeling he's trying to tell me something. What do you think of Pataks sauces or would you not touch them with a barge pole? And a second question if I may. I used to make a very good Brinjal chutney but lost the recipe. Is there a recipe for brinjal chutney in your book?

Hello Stansgran

I'm afraid i've not tried Pathak's curry sauces but i've also not heard a bad word said against them. While there's absolutely nothing wrong with having a jar in your cupboard, I think a general rule of thumb is that anything you cook at home is going to be tastier, fresher and better for you than something that comes out of a bottle.

I don't have a recipe for brinjal pickle in my book but a few people have asked me for one so I'm just perfecting my recipe and will post it up on my blog in the next few weeks. Keep an eye out for it here

kiligran

Indian food is my absolute favourite and I've had many Indian friends over the past 35 years that have given me recipes and helped me cook some fabulous dishes. But one thing I cannot master is a perfect naan bread so please help. Regarding the curry leaves, I always got them fresh when I lived in the Middle East, since living in Cyprus I have manage to grow a curry leaf tree ( bought on the net ) I think it might be possible to grow one in a green house or conservatory in the UK. Worth a try.

I still think the best naan breads are made in tandoors but if you're not able to install one in your garden.....it's okay because I have a foolproof stove top recipe for you. It's my aunt's recipe and she's a fabulous baker (and a real perfectionist).

The key to her recipe is the milk and yoghurt used which gives the naan some real flavour and softness along with a good amount of proofing time to make it light and fluffy. You can find her recipe in my book.

CariGransnet

Ooh yes - gluten free ideas very welcome!!

Indian cookery is fantastic for people who are gluten intolerant (with the exception of breads and battered starters).

In terms of ideas - there are so many! But you could start with my daily dal, chicken curry or spiced spring vegetable recipes which are on the Daily Telegraph website here (There are lots more recipes in my book if you like those.)

kittylester

Our local huge Sainsbury's has curry leaves but the smaller one doesn't.

I love making and eating curries! Years ago an Indian friend ran cookery courses from which I learnt loads but I imagine that things will have changed a lot in the intervening 35 years. I also have an exceedingly greasy and bespattered Madhur Jaffrey book from around the same time. How do you cook differently from the older generation?

If I can ask another question, can you tell me if it is possible to make naan etc from a flour which is gluten free?

Both good questions Kittylester.

I have a lot of Madhur Jaffrey recipe books at home and think she's wonderful. My cooking varies from hers in that I grew up in Lincolnshire (not India) surrounded by fresh British produce so use it in my cooking a lot. For example I have a recipe for beetroot and feta samosas in my book and one for a butternut squash curry.

In general I tink my cooking is probably fresher, lighter and (possibly)quicker and uses a wide variety of British produce and meat.

As for the naan - yes you can use gluten free flour but you'll need a good binding agent like Dove Farm's xanthan gum to help bind your dough.

I don't have a recipe in my book but you've inspired me to create one for my blog.

jollyg

Please tell where we can get curry leaves in UK fresh of course

Hello Jolly G,

Lots of smaller Indian grocers stock them as do larger branches of Tesco's and Sainsbury's. If you prefer to shop online then you can buy them from Ocado, Spices of India or Natoora for them.

nannanet

I would love some ideas for indian dishes where I can use salmon. I would like to cook something a bit different for a dinner party at the end of July. One of the guests doesn't eat any meat. One will eat fish as long as it is salmon. And one doesn't like anything too creamy. Can you help? Thanks in advance

Hello nannanet. I love cooking with salmon: it's it is more flavourful than white fish, so can stand up very well to Indian spices. For dinner parties I like to cook a whole side of salmon marinaded in a tikka marinade with some ajwain seeds thrown in for good measure (also known as bishop's weed or carom seeds) which are always delicious with fish.

Or else I'll cook one of my favourite curries: salmon and spinach curry. It's a fresh and light curry but packed full of flavour. The recipes for the tikka marinade is in my book and the salmon and spinach is here